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The move to the Woodman’s Center came with a challenge: the loss of about $70,000 in annual concessions revenue that the club had relied on as perpetual income. At the Woodman’s Center, concessions are professionally managed, nixing that fundraising opportunity.

At the Janesville Ice Arena, concessions revenue subsidized the club’s annual ice bill of over $200,000, helping to keep participation affordable for families. The drawback was that families had to give of their time, volunteering for concessions shifts.

The solution in the move to the Woodman’s Center has been Hockey Beer, a German-style ale developed by Rocco, who reformulated the brewery’s best-selling Kölsch to create a slightly lighter beverage.

Hockey Beer took off fast. It quickly became a top seller, amounting to about 90% of all beer sold at the Woodman’s Center since the new arena’s opening on Sept. 20.

Hockey Beer is sold at the Woodman’s Center for $6 a can, the cheapest beer available on-site, and for $5 at Rock County Brewing Company in downtown Janesville.

For every can sold at either location, $2 goes directly to the Janesville Youth Hockey Club.

In the Woodman’s Center’s first two month, sales of Hockey Beer raised nearly $12,000 to support youth athletics — $8,300 directly from beer sales and an additional $3,500 from merchandise sales.

Local restaurants and bars including The Looking Glass and Mo’s Taasbags in Janesville have also added Hockey Beer to their beverage menus. And it’s sold by regional grocers Piggly Wiggly and Hy-Vee, with Woodman’s distribution planned, with the $2-per-can donation included.

The beer is brewed with a German hybrid yeast that balances fruitiness with dryness.

“We wanted to pull back the alcohol just a little bit, and just make it light, easy to drink, and really something that appealed to the masses,” Rocco said, describing the flavor.

The official tasting notes call it light and easy drinking, with a subtle fruitiness and a crisp, clean finish.

The creators were adamant about the product’s quality and their commitment to local investment.

Rocco emphasized the entirely local nature of the project.

“Every aspect of this beer is from Janesville, stays with Janesville. The money stays here, the beer is from here, benefits kids from here. It’s about as local as it gets,” he said.

He also highlighted the value proposition:.

“We’re competing against Coors Light, Busch Light, Miller Lite at Woodman’s events, and so for a dollar less, you get a far superior quality beer,” he said.

Knott said he’s enjoying “watching people love it, and knowing that every can I see is $2 [for the kids].”

“When you see hundreds and thousands of cans, you know you’re making an impact to grow the sport,” Knott said.

The funds raised are critical as Janesville Youth Hockey experiences a wave of growth that’s great to see but expensive in the form of ice time, equipment and other costs. With a focus on hockey being an accessible sport for all families, all necessary equipment is provided for children up to age 10.

Participation growth is expected to keep accelerating.

“Next year we’ll have almost 300 kids in our club because of the growth of hockey, because of this facility,” Knott said, referencing the new Woodman’s Center.

The fastest growth is in the club’s girls’ program:

“It’s our fastest growing demographic. Three years ago, we had 15 girls in the club, now we have 45,” Knott said.

An in a unique recycling initiative, the Hockey Beer cans are being repurposed.

A family in the club is finding new life for the cans, cutting off the tops and inserting high aroma candles to be sold as Hockey Beer merchandise. Some of those proceeds are also benefitting Janesville Youth Hockey.

To learn more about Rock County Brewing’s Hockey Beer, visit .